Status

We are considering the addition of a new field that could keep track of the status of a project. We would prefer to have this be a fixed list (like priority) instead of a user-defined list (like context) because it makes it much easier/quicker to implement and because it allows us to give special treatment to particular values. For example, a status of "postponed" could cause the task to become invisible for 1 week (or something like that).

Here is a list of the status values that we came up with. We grouped some that we thought might be the same. Did we miss any?

I think some of these values are redundant,and personally would prefer a smaller list. I would pare it down to six (not necessarily named as such):

Next action (self-explanatory)
Actionable/Active (any action that I committed to and can be done now, but I choose not to do it next)
Planning (items that are more reference that actions)
Delegated (Actions I hate doing and got someone else to do it instead)
Pending/Waiting/Deferred/On Hold/Postponed (These are the same-- actions that I cannot do unless something else happens)
Someday/Maybe /optional (Actions that I could do now, but have not committed myself to doing them yet)

Very cool idea. This is probably the main missing ingredient in Toodledo.

I would like to see:
Action - actions that are live and ready to be acted on
Reference - items that aren't acted on but needed at some point and time
Hold - actions that are waiting for something
Someday - actions that aren't a priority that I would like to do at some point
Canceled - actions that are dead that you don't have to do, but would like to keep them logged

I could see a use for "Delegated" actions. "Deferred" is one that has always thrown me. I always thought of that as being delegated tasks, or tasks that you passed on to someone else. But I know that the definition is "something that is put on hold".

I don't really understand the need for "Next Action". Wouldn't that be better handled by using priority or the stars?

Following that work flow, you would have:
- Inbox (this should be auto-default for any new task)
- Someday
- Reference
- Tickler (although Reference could be used for this)
- Next Action
- Waiting

One big feature I would love to see added:
- Create a project (It could be a "folder")
- Add tasks to the project (in a specific order, no auto reorder)
- Repeat last two steps for each project you have
- Go to a "Next Action" view - This view would show ONLY the top item of each project.
- When I check off one of the tasks in the "Next Action" view, the page reloads with the next task from the top of the project (because it is now the "next action"

This gives you a view into all next actions without having to sort through different views to determine what should be the next action.

I like your thoughts. I foresee in settings a checkbox, "enable GTD", where the look and feel of Toodledo changes for GTD processing.

-Inbox becomes default
-Star becomes next action identifier
-Folders become Projects
-Projects have a File Bucket and a notes field added
-Actions are movable for sort order (This is a tough one for Toodledo developers from other forum messages and I think could be left out for now to get this implemented quicker)
-Items in Someday automatically get Priority -1 for info hiding
-Items in Reference automatically get excluded from any hotlist/task since they are no longer a task (Kind of like priority -1 but not hidden from view)
-A "complete with new action" function since some actions inspire new actions within the same project.

I also think Tickler and Reference should be kept separate, I love my tickler file and use it to remind me of actionable items I have to do only after a certain date (Follow up calls, crank time specific widget, etc) but I don't want to see it 'till then, nor do I want to forget it. Reference is never action sensitive, usually information from previous action or detail information for current project but never actionable.

Lastly a bucket list for Contacts would be nice, not for delegating but I use it for knowing who I need to work on the task with, or who I'm waiting on. It gives me a quick sort for when I'm working with someone I can see other items I can process with them. I tried using tags for this but a separate bucket would be more efficient.

Oh I'm getting excited!!! Again Toodledo has all this functionality, just need the addition of the GTD Buckets (Default to Inbox), Notes on Projects and File Repository at the Project itself. Thanks for the consideration of this, I look forward to it.

Hi have just signed up to try out toodledo. And really the biggest ingredient missing is Status. Happy with your original list. Think it makes sense.
But please dont implement anything like making things disapear for a week. Its better to allow users to keep control of thier actions, and enable us to manage how we want

We took a month-long break from using Toodledo in our family to explore other options.

Wow. Status makes a real difference. I am now trying the free trial for work, and this combined with subtasks is such a huge improvement. I could never have used Toodledo for my work without this feature. Now it's replaced Outlook as my to-do list, and I'm finally really starting to learn how to use GTD.

I'm going to explore the collaboration options, and decide if we want a pro account to use at home as well.

Status is great but it should be an option for Hotlist. Right now, hotlist is useless to me because it deals only with Priority which is not a GTD concept. I want to see all my next actions (along with due dates) appear in the HotList.

I'm struggling with Status - I so badly want to mark some tasks as a "next action" status, but what am I supposed to do when I finish that task? Go look in the folder it belongs to for the NEXT "next action" and change its status from "pending" to "next action"? I feel like what I really need for most of my projects is the ability to plan the project(s) out, get all their tasks down, but when I look at my task lists, only see the top next action for each project. So, if in toodledo, projects are represented by folders, I want to see just one task for each folder - and as soon as I complete it, I want the next task in the folder to magically show up. Is there any combination of settings that would let me do this? Or am I going to have to do manual editing of my tasks after I complete each one in order to get this kind of filtered view?

I don't use status because of the issues that Glenn brought up, although I can see it being useful for some. I tried it, it just didn't work for me. Instead, I list every task on Toodledo when I plan out a project, every task I can think of. Then I star the next action/task for that project or folder. When it's completed, I simply star the subsequent next action for that folder. This speeds up the process for me of making something a next action. I use the single line view that shows the folders/projects and just click on the "starred" tab to see all my next actions and the folder associated with each.